Some recipes are undeniably easy to make, and these chocolate sandwich cookies are high on the list of the easiest recipes ever. With boxed cake mix and a fast cream-cheese filling, you can have sandwich cookies ready to eat before you know it. The hardest part is waiting for the cookies to cool down so you can assemble the sandwiches.
This is also one of those recipes that you can customize in just about any way you choose. From using different cake mix flavors to trying different fillings, you can change this recipe to make an array of different cookies. These are wonderful make-ahead cookies as they freeze beautifully, too.
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies Ingredients
- Devil’s food cake mix: Use two boxes that are regular size. Devil’s food is nice and rich.
- Canola oil: Canola oil is one of the magic ingredients that turns the boxed cake into something strong enough to form a cookie.
- Large eggs: Boxed mixes often call for eggs, but when you want to make cookies out of the mix, use fewer eggs. Many boxed mixes call for three eggs when making a cake; reduce that to two eggs per box. Since this recipe uses two boxes, you’ll need four eggs total.
Filling:
- Cream cheese: The filling is a cream cheese frosting, so this cream cheese provides flavor and richness.
- Butter: Butter helps make the filling lighter and more airy.
- Confectioners; sugar: This helps thicken the frosting filling.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla adds a little flavor to the mixture.
Directions
Step 1: Make the dough
Combine both boxes of cake mix, the canola oil and the eggs in a large bowl. Mix them until everything is well blended. Roll the batter into 1-inch balls and place them on ungreased baking sheets, with 2 inches of space between the balls. Don’t flatten the balls.
Step 2: Bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and when it’s ready, bake the cookies for eight to 10 minutes until they’re set. Let the cookies cool for five minutes and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will become flatter as they cool down.
Step 3: Make the filling
Cream the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat the mixture until it’s smooth. Turn some cooled cookies over so their bottoms are facing up, and spread filling onto those cookie bottoms. You can also pipe it, if you have piping bags. Top each with another cookie.
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies Variations
- Try different cake mix flavors: This recipe uses devil’s food cake mix in a box, but you can use any cake mix flavor you want. You can also split the recipe and make half with one flavor and half with another. How about making half of the cookies chocolate and half of the cookies lemon or strawberry?
- Ice cream sandwiches: Bake and cool the cookies as directed and then place a scoop of softened (but not melting) ice cream on one. Press down on the ice cream with another cookie to form an ice cream sandwich. These cookies freeze well, so you can prepare a bunch of ice cream sandwiches to keep in the freezer.
- Cookie pops: If you want a fun variation, look at these quick chocolate chip cookie pops. Grab some food-grade ice pop sticks and push one into the frosting of one of the sandwich cookies and enjoy.
How to Store Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Because the filling for these cookies contains cream cheese, you need to refrigerate the cookies that you aren’t eating within two hours of baking and assembling. And you’ll need to refrigerate the filling as you wait for the cookies to cool down. Place assembled sandwich cookies in an airtight container and refrigerate for no more than one week.
Can you freeze chocolate sandwich cookies?
These cookies freeze very well. They benefit from initial single-layer freezing to set the cream cheese filling. Place the cookies on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 to 60 minutes. Then, wrap each sandwich cookie in a couple of layers of plastic wrap, and place all the packages inside a freezer bag or airtight container. You can keep these in the freezer for two to three months.
Chocolate Sandwich Cookies Tips
Can you make the cookies larger?
Yes, you can roll portions of the dough into larger balls that will spread out into larger cookies. Don’t change the baking temperature, but do monitor the cookies and bake them for slightly longer if needed. Be careful not to let them burn.
Can you change the flavor of the filling?
Yes! Try the filling in these chocolate mint sandwich cookies, for example, or this egg-white and sugar filling in these mini chocolate chip sandwich cookies. Use your favorite filling with food coloring, such as in these multicolored chocolate sandwich cookies, or just use canned frosting. There’s nothing stopping you from using whatever filling you want to, although you do want to use something that won’t squirt out the other side when you take a bite of the sandwich cookie. Try adding chopped nuts or fruit if you want, such as in this chocolate-cherry sandwich cookie recipe, which uses chopped maraschino cherries in the filling.
Can you use homemade cake recipes in place of the cake mix?
It wouldn’t be impossible to do, but it might be overly complicated. You’d have to ensure that you made your recipe’s cake batter just like the boxed cake mix so that combining your cake recipe with the other ingredients would produce cookies with the same texture as the recipe here. If you want to take the time to work that out, you certainly can do that, but it would be much easier to find a boxed cake mix that you’re satisfied with. Whether you need a gluten-free mix or an organic mix free of preservatives, you can find something that fits your dietary needs and preferences.
